The New World
by FailKitten13
Summary: The Straw Hats stop by an island trapped in a ye olde Victorian Era island and pick up a stowaway named Moses. Moses only wants to get back to the New World, where he suspects his parents are, but he seems shady about a lot of things. I guess this might eventually have a one sided pairing, but telling you what it is would give too much away.
1. Prologue

It seemed an easy thing.  
The sixteen-year-old was just small enough to squeeze under the bed in the lower cabin.  
It would be a week before the unsuspecting crew continued on their course.  
It was time to go home.


	2. Chapter 1

This wasn't a problem complained about often on the Grand Line. That is, at least, Luffy was fairly certain it wasn't. Then again, he knew there were all kinds of other problems to be had out there. So, of course no one was going to be caught bitching and moaning about a little stowaway.  
Brown eyes were locked firmly on green as the captain of the Going Merry bit down on what was most likely his fourth meal of the day(but certainly not his last, as it was just barely the afternoon by then). The subject holding his attention was evidently frozen on the spot. This went on for an uncomfortably long period of silent staring until Luffy finally addressed the stranger.  
"When did you get here?" he asked, chomping down on the drumstick in his hand.  
The stowaway - a younger boy with scruffy red hair and shifty green eyes - opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't seem to think of anything.  
"Who are you?" Luffy continued regardless of the answer he never got.  
Finally, the boy seemed to regain his ability to speak.  
"I'm...Moses," he managed, looking very much like a cornered animal.  
"Did you come here from the last island?" Luffy moved on.  
It seemed hard to believe no one had discovered this Moses person for that long. After all, they hadn't been docked at that island for perhaps a month. Had Moses been starving for a month? Maybe that was why he came up to the galley. Luffy knew he wouldn't be able to hide nearly that long without food.  
"Yeah...look, I wasn't planning on staying here forever, I swear. I was actually going to leave as soon as soon as you guys docked at another island or came into contact with another ship - "  
"Don't make excuses," Luffy interrupted him nonchalantly. In all honesty, he just didn't want to hear the boy ramble any further. It wasn't getting them anywhere. "I don't care that you're here."  
Moses looked very surprised about this news. His eyebrows practically flew halfway up his forehead.  
"You...you don't?"  
"No. Not really. You didn't hurt anyone."  
"That's true, that's true," Moses agreed heartily.  
The door opened just as another awkward silence was settling into the atmosphere, and Moses immediately hopped back into the stairwell he'd come from.  
Sanji stepped in and slammed his hands down on the table.  
"Look, Luffy, I know it's you who's been taking more than your usual five meals a day this past month. Stop lying and come clean. I want to just get this over with."  
"It still wasn't me, Sanji," Luffy protested through a mouthful of chicken. "Honest!"  
"Oh, yeah? Then who was it? That idiot swordsman? I'd have no trouble believing it was him."  
"No. We have a stowaway."  
Sanji's visible - and oddly swirled at that - eyebrow raised.  
"A stowaway?" he repeated, obviously not prepared to believe him.  
"Yeah. His name is Moses," Luffy explained flatly, pointing to the door Moses had disappeared through, "and he went through there."  
Sanji headed in the direction Luffy pointed and flung the door open, his foul mood only getting worse at the news of another greedy mouth to feed. Moses - who hadn't moved from the stairwell as he was sure no one would want to come looking for him - immediately spun his head around and gawked up at Sanji in a shocked manner.  
"So, you're the one with sticky fingers, huh?" the blonde demanded, grabbing the back of the boy's shirt and hauling him back up into the galley.  
Moses wasted no time in clasping his small hands together in a sort of 'asking-for-forgiveness' pose.  
"Please don't be too upset with me, sir!" Moses begged. "I only took a little bit each day; I didn't think anyone would notice!"  
"Believe me," Sanji fumed, "when someone steals from my kitchen, I notice."  
"I'm so, so, so, so sorry," Moses kept on frantically. "I swear I'll make it up to you as soon as I can!"  
"Captain, what are we going to do about this stowaway?" Sanji inquired, his attention shifting back to Luffy.  
The raven-haired boy shrugged. "I don't care. He can stay as long as he needs to."  
Moses' eyes brightened.  
"You can't be serious," Sanji groaned. "What if he just wants to mooch off of us?"  
Moses shook his head hastily.  
"No way!" he cut in without thinking. "I'm on a mission!"  
"Look, kid, I'm sure your parents are wondering where you are by now - "  
"Let's hear him out, Sanji," Luffy interrupted. "What's your mission?"  
"Actually...I have to go find my parents. We were...separated when I was a baby," he explained awkwardly, making sure his shirt was tucked in right. "I think they're in the New World...I remember a little bit about being there, and I've heard people mention it when I ask around about who dropped me off." The redhead looked back up at the two older males. "I'm not asking you to take me there. I'm just asking for a short ride to wherever you're stopping off next."  
Luffy shrugged.  
"I'm pretty sure we'll be in this New World eventually," he told him. "It could be a long time, though."  
"I don't care how long it takes," Moses said firmly. "I don't have a set time limit."  
That seemed a little odd: To have no set time limit for when you would see your long lost parents again.  
Luffy put that thought behind him.  
"It's settled," Luffy decided firmly, sealing the deal with a wide grin. "We're taking Moses to see his parents!"  
Sanji rolled his eyes, making a rather dramatic exit. Evidently, he took it upon himself to tell everyone they'd picked up a new crew member. Just as Moses felt he would be able to discuss things privately with the captain of this ship, about five people(including Sanji)flooded into the room and sat with Luffy at the table.  
Moses waved awkwardly at what he assumed to be the rest of the crew.  
"How did you even get here without anyone noticing?" a redheaded girl asked him, seemingly bewildered.  
"How did a scrawny thing like you even survive this long without being noticed?" a tan, muscular man followed up, seeming nonchalant rather than curious.  
Moses' face reddened in indignation.  
"I, uh, he was asleep," Moses answered the girl first, pointing at the second inquirer, "and I'm a lot tougher than I look. So, be careful about calling me a 'scrawny thing' in the future!"  
It was the other man's turn to have his face flush indignantly as the redheaded girl smacked him upside the head.  
"I don't even know why Luffy lets you keep watch at all!" she scolded.  
"He doesn't sleep every time, Nami," a long-nosed man pointed out.  
"Who are all you people?" Moses butted in.  
It was only right for him to know, after all.  
"Oh, sorry about that," the redheaded girl said, her expression immediately turning to one of friendliness. "My name is Nami. That's Zoro, Chopper, Robin, Luffy, Sanji, and Usopp."  
Nami pointed to everyone as she went down the list. Moses had to admit, they were quite an interesting bunch. He wasn't even sure what this Chopper thing was.  
"I, uh, I'm Moses."  
"Moses?" Zoro raised an eyebrow. "What kind of name is Mo - "  
Nami smacked him upside the head yet again. "Don't be so rude, Zoro!"  
He sent her a death glare in response.  
"I don't really care," Moses shrugged. "I know it's a weird name to you guys. But it's not like that's going to kill me." He turned his attention to Luffy again. "Thank you very much for not throwing me overboard, sir. I am very grateful to you."  
"No problem," Luffy chuckled. "I have a feeling we're going on an even bigger adventure than we think."  
"Yeah," Zoro replied, giving Moses a suspicious stare as he spoke, "you could say that."


End file.
